U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo of Colorado unveiled a package of migrant-related bills in the House Thursday that aim to break a partisan logjam on immigration reform and would assist cities like Denver that have shouldered unforeseen costs.
The congresswoman, who represents Colorado's most heavily Latino congressional district, said her aim is to help interior cities deal with sheltering and other costs in one of two bills she's leading. Other bills she's joined as a co-sponsor would shorten the time migrants must wait for work authorization and ease the path to citizenship for those who came to the United States as minors and have lived here for years — the so-called Dreamers. Some of the bills have bipartisan support.
The legislation comes as the issue of immigration and the border crisis dominates the 2024 presidential campaign — with same-day visits to the U.S. southern border Thursday by President Joe Biden and his Republican rival, former President Donald Trump.
Two of Caraveo's bills would provide law enforcement with more resources to deal with border-related drug interdiction and would hold ICE detention centers, like the one in Aurora, accountable for protecting detainees who are injured, are sexually assaulted or die in their facilities.
It's not clear how far the bills will advance in the Republican-controlled House. Earlier this month, at Trump's urging, a bipartisan deal in the U.S. Senate was scuttled by Republican congressional leaders. The new House bill package revives some elements of that deal in separate bills.
"We'll see if his party is interested in actual solutions," Caraveo said of GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson in an interview with The Denver Post.
Caraveo is running for second term this year in Colorado's recently created 8th Congressional District, which is expected to have a battleground race.
Her bill that would be likely to have the greatest impact on Denver, which has seen nearly 39,000 migrants arrive in the city over the last 15 months, is the Humanitarian Emergency Localized Partnerships (HELP) for Interior Cities Act. The bill would allocate $1.4 billion to cities to cover shelter and other service costs for "noncitizen migrants," many of them Venezuelans, who are awaiting decisions on their asylum requests.
It's not yet clear what Denver's cut would be from the bill. The city has spent more than $40 million on providing services to newcomers. Mayor Mike Johnston recently announced a $5 million first round of cuts to city services to help cover this year's expected costs, which are now projected at $120 million, depending on the pace of migrant arrivals.
"The bill looks at the fact that Denver needs money," Caraveo said. "It tasks the federal government to step up and pay its fair share."
The legislation also would prioritize funding for hospitals, clinics and community health centers. In January, Denver Health announced that 8,000 migrants who came to Colorado from Central America in 2023 made about 20,000 visits to the health system, for needs including dental emergencies, mental health counseling and childbirth.
Another bill, the Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act, would reduce the 180-day waiting period for work authorization eligibility for migrants to 30 days, allowing an asylum seeker to legally seek employment as soon as a claim is filed.
"It's really looking to speed up the process for people who want to work," the congresswoman said.
Caraveo said allowing migrants to work sooner would ease the strain of providing emergency shelter as they procure an income and become less reliant on assistance. The Post recently documented the difficulties newly arrived migrants have faced in obtaining legal employment in metro Denver.
The mayor of Northglenn, which is in Caraveo's district, in October implored the Department of Homeland Security to issue a rule shortening the wait time for work authorization for asylum applicants to 30 days. Mayor Meredith Leighty said doing so would allow migrants to "become self-sufficient and contribute to the local economy."
The bills come against a backdrop of heightened tensions over immigration into the United States, which has soared under the Biden administration as many have used the asylum process as a way in. The Pew Research Center calculated that the U.S. Border Patrol dealt with nearly 250,000 migrants crossing into the country from Mexico in December — a new record.
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